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Suul Barat
Suul Barat is a primary antagonist of Books 2 and 3 of the series. He uses the alias Malzadrian and seeks to destroy the Barrier. He trains grim dreamers to serve his selfish schemes. Prince Fox and Nimfaeti are his current pupils. During the Myriad, Suul Barat was a powerful grim dreamer who lived in the Twisted Tower of the Academy in Bahd'Aireal. He was regarded as the most powerful grim dreamer to ever live, and his research was instrumental in furthering the understanding of the dream at the time. Suul Barat's selfish pursuit of power (specifically, magical immortality) ultimately caused a violent schism which caused the other eight towers of the Academy to collapse, killing hundreds of ziraduun and ruining much of Bahd'Aireal. He was close friends with Cyrildrim, the most powerful shadowcaster of the Academy. In some accounts, it is said that Cyrildrim was Suul Barat's apprentice, but this is unlikely given that they used two opposing forms of magic. Nonetheless, Suul Barat was clearly older than Cyrildrim and was well-established at the Academy before Cyrildrim's rise to power. At first, Suul Barat and Cyrildrim cooperated in their research into immortality. They were partially successful. Notably, as Cyrildrim aged into a haggard old man, Suul Barat remained youthful. This led to Suul Barat jokingly/tauntingly referring to his friend as "old man" (even though Suul Barat was technically older). Suul Barat eventually learned the horrifying magic of deathlock, which he used to seize the dragh-kin Nazagorn as a personal pet. Cyrildrim came to oppose Suul Barat's research on moral grounds, and their friendship dissolved. Eventually, a deadly magical battle broke out, causing eight of the Academy's nine towers to collapse. The Twisted Tower was the only tower to survive the battle, because it was built using mundane brick and stone, rather than magical materials. By order of the shattered Academy, Suul Barat and Cyrildrim were exiled to Haelfaun to finish their conflict. They were never heard from again. The Eighth War of Hate began shortly thereafter, ending the Myriad and beginning the turmoil of the Lost Years. Today, "the Tale of the Falling Towers" is told as a cautionary tale about the dangers and folly of magic, and the Twisted Tower of Bahd'Aireal stands as a monument to the triumph of honest manual labor. This is primarily how Suul Barat and Cyrildrim are remembered. Most of the legend is true. However, Suul Barat did not die in Haelfaun. Instead, he went into hiding and has assumed numerous identities over the years since. Through his magic, he is immortal in that he does not age and will never die of natural causes. He is still vulnerable to violent death, however. He is currently disguised as Malzadrian, advisor to Prince Fox of Bahd'Aireal. As such, he has not strayed far from his original homeland, despite hundreds of years of hiding his true identity. In fact, Malzadrian rather boldly maintains Suul Barat's old office and chambers in the Twisted Tower. When Khazr (Cyrildrim) discovers this, he disappointedly remarks that Suul Barat has been hiding "in plain sight."